Grounds for Divorce in Georgia
There are established grounds (reasons) to file for divorce in the State of Georgia. Spouses are not required to show justification for filing a divorce. A simple statement by one party that the marriage is irretrievably broken is all that is necessary to authorize a court to grant a complete divorce. This is commonly known as a “no fault” divorce. Other grounds can be requested by either party and multiple grounds may be cited.
Legal Grounds for Divorce
- Intermarriage by persons within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity;
- Mental incapacity at the time of the marriage;
- Impotency at the time of the marriage;
- Force, menace, duress, or fraud in obtaining the marriage;
- Pregnancy of the wife by a man other than the husband, at the time of the marriage and unknown by the husband;
- Adultery in either of the parties after the marriage;
- Willful and continued desertion by either of the parties for a period of one year;
- The conviction of either party for an offense involving moral turpitude and under which he or she is sentenced to imprisonment in a penal institution for a term of two years or longer;
- Habitual intoxication;
- Cruel treatment;
- Incurable mental illness;
- Habitual drug addiction;
- The marriage is irretrievably broken
Often a party may have one or more fault-based grounds for divorce but not allege it in the Complaint or Counterclaim. Your attorney will discuss how best to plead the grounds for your specific case.